IF there is ever a movement to cast an Asian James Bond, there really should only be one candidate: Tony Leung Chiu Wai.

Not only is he one of the most internationally recognisable and renowned Asian actors, he also has the acting chops to pull off any genre be it drama, comedy, action or romance.

Case in point, his latest film, Europe Raiders, in which the 56-year-old Hong Kong star oozes the pre-requisite Bond-ian charm, wit and charisma, while looking unbelievably cool in action sequences.

In fact, Leung pretty much single-handedly makes Europe Raiders watchable, as the rest of the movie is a bit of a mess, to be honest.

This sequel to Tokyo Raiders (2000) and Seoul Raiders (2006) sees Leung’s dashing bounty hunter Lin Zaifeng go after a weapon of mass destruction called the ‘Hand Of God’, which was invented by an old target and friend of his, Mercury (George Lam).

When the Hand Of God is stolen by the mysterious Sophie (Du Juan), Lin has to team up with main rival and old flame Wang Chaoying (Tiffany Tang) and a hacker named Rocky (Kris Wu) to retrieve the item.

In terms of plot, that’s pretty much all there is to know.

Sure, are some sub-plots regarding Lin and Wang’s rivalry and unrequited romance, and some shenanigans concerning Mercury’s children and the CIA, but overall, the story isn’t that memorable.

The action sequences are decent, if a bit ludicrous at times, with style taking precedence over substance in some, while others seemingly shoehorned in to add to the runtime (one particular car “chase” moved along so leisurely that it looked like a typical Malaysian Chinese wedding convoy).

The comedic elements definitely work a lot better in this movie compared to the action bits. Director Jingle Ma adds some slapstick touches that hark back to the golden days of Stephen Chow-led Hong Kong comedy, with Lin’s three kung fu sidekicks (played by veteran Hong Kong stars Yuen Chiu, Lau Kar Yung and Lo Meng) standing out. Heck, there’s even a line that references one of Chow’s Journey To The West movies.

Still, it doesn’t help that there is hardly any urgency to the proceedings – despite Sophie setting a 72-hour deadline before she destroys the world, none of the involved parties seemed to be in a hurry to get things done.

Way too much time is spent setting up Lin and Wang’s so-called romantic rivalry, while Rocky doesn’t seem to do anything beyond standing around looking “cool” while waiting for something to happen.

Thank goodness, then, for the tour de force that is Tony Leung Chiu Wai, without whom this movie would have been utterly forgettable.

From the most mundane of scenes to the most ludicrously over-the-top action setpieces (the opening sequence has him snowboarding down a mountain in a luminescent white snowsuit), Leung steals every scene he is in here.

It also helps that he clearly doesn’t take himself too seriously; he is almost permanently smirking throughout the movie, and adopts a slightly jokey tone when it comes to his delivery of lines.

Ma should have just chucked Leung into every scene he filmed, because the movie just take a downhill turn whenever he is not on screen.

If you managed to tolerate Bond flicks like The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day because of Pierce Brosnan, then you should definitely watch Europe Raiders just to watch Leung in action.

The petition for Leung to become the first Asian James Bond starts.

Tony, this is not the time to be playing counting games. Photo: TGV Pictures

Nothing like a little shootout to relieve those first date tensions. Photo: TGV Pictures

EVEN though Europe Raiders is the third instalment of the Raiders series, you don’t really need to watch the first two to enjoy the latest movie.

Expect some similar elements, such as where Leung and the lead actress try to out-charm and out-wit each other while saving the world from the evil forces of destruction.

The action is everything you would expect from one of prolific director Ma’s action comedies. His signature cinematography remains intact, particularly in the highly stylised fight scenes.

Aptly, considering the title, the film was shot predominantly in the Italian cities of Milan, Venice, Rome and Florence.

For years, Lin Zaifeng (Tony Leung) and Wang Chaoying (Tiffany Tang) have been rival bounty hunters. Both are hired by the CIA to track down Sophie (Du Juan), who has stolen a secret software called Hand of God. Even the European mafia and Europol special agents are dragged into the equation.

Lin and Wang enlist Sophie’s brother, Rocky (Kris Wu) to find her, without knowing that Rocky has his own secret plan.

A manic cat-and-mouse-chase ensues across the beautiful city of Milan, as our heroes try to stop Sophie from using Hand of God to blow up the world.

Leung spent three months preparing for the film and did most of the action scenes himself, including the spectacular opening sequence where he crashes through a giant glass window wearing a thick ski suit with around 7,000 brightly lit LED lights attached.

While millennials may go gaga over Wu and Tang, Ma ensures the ‘older’ segment of the audience is catered for, with scenes featuring George Lam and several other veteran Hong Kong actors.

Overall, Europe Raiders is a highly enjoyable action feast. Fans of the Raiders series may want to check this out, as well as movie fans who love comedic action adventures.

Look out for a red Malaysian passport which features prominently in one of the scenes in the movie.

Two rival bounty hunters, Lin Zaifeng (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) and Wang Chaoying (Yan Tang), unite along with the CIA and the Mafia to find the Hand of God, a box that contains a WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction), which Sophie (Du Juan) has stolen for nefarious purposes. Sophie refuses to give the Hand of God back unless Rocky (Kris Wu) is released from prison.

Writer/director Jingle Ma deftly combines action, suspense, thrills and intrigue with just the right amount of witty dialogue and comic relief. He hooks audiences right away with a prologue that sets the film's tone and introduces the characters of Lin Zaifeng and his family members before flashing forward several years. The less you read about the plot of Europe Raiders the better because it has many surprising twists and turns up its sleeve. Jingle Ma also does a great job of handling exposition, a very tricky part of writing a screenplay that could derail a film if it's not handled expertly. Fortunately, there's just enough exposition to keep you from losing track of what's going on without insulting the audience's intelligence or boring them with excessive exposition. The third act's twists, which won't be revealed here, are clever and work within the film's internal logic. The use of flashbacks are also incorporated effectively without diminishing the dramatic momentum. Ma moves the pace along briskly and includes well-choreographed, exhilarating action scenes that will keep your eyes glued to the screen.

Europe Raiders greatest strength is that it offers both a compelling plot and interesting characters that have more to them than meets the eye. The villain, Sophie, is not a cookie-cutter, cartoonish villain. She not merely a villain who wants to cause destruction around the world to gain power; she actually has a backstory that's interesting and makes her all the more human despite her malevolent actions and flaws. Each of the actors and actresses is very well-cast ranging from Tony Leung Chiu-Wai to Yan Tang, Du Juan and Kris Wu. The dynamics of Lin and Wang's relationship remain captivating to watch as they evolve. They both have some wonderful rapport and chemistry together, i.e. a during scene in a car where they show off one of their high tech gadgets to each other. At an ideal running time of 100 minutes, Europe Raiders is a gripping, crowd-pleasing and explosive thrill ride that's enormously entertaining. If you liked Mission: Impossible--Fallout, you'll love Europe Raiders. Please be sure to watch it on the big screen with a large crowd.